Manufacturing dropper



Feb. 3, 1942;

C. G. ANASTOR MANUFACTURING DROPPER Filed Aug. 3,' 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 NMa @NNW Feb. 3,1942. c. ca.` AN'As'roR 2,272,105

MANUFACTURING DROPPER Filed Aug. -s.. 1'940 4 sheets-sheet s .-llllli Feb. 3, 1942. vc. G. ANAs'roR 2,2725105 MANUFACTURING DRQPPER A Filed Aug. s, '1940 4 sheets-sheet 4 me/who@ arf/cs nas for iTsD lSTAT-l5:

flegs I6.

drives belt I9 through a reducer indicated at 2t Patented Feb. 3, 1942 MANUFCTURING mtor'ijnit Charles G. Maston-Vineland, J.; 2,147 f Kimble GlassCompany, yineland, lN. J.,a cor- .1. g

"poration oflllinois Application August 3, 1,940, Serial o.

The present invention relates to the manufacture' of medicine droppers ofthe typehavng a curved ors angular discharge end, vand morepar- 4ticularlyto a machinefor reducingand bending tubular-'glass blanksto produce droppers of-the aforesaid character. n l

.One of the objects of the invention is toform from a. tubular glass blank two similarly shaped c edroppers, .each having a reduced discharge end portion, this reduced portion being offset .axially with respect 'to the axis fof the main body of vthe dropper. l

Another object of the invention is the provision the blank is bent to the desired form.

CII

.of anovel conveyor which carries a plurality of A .blanks past heating flames,l then stretches a heated portion of each blank, and iinally supports the blank, while` still plastic. in such a mannerthat n Other objects will be apparent from the followf Aing description of apreferred'embodimentv of -theinvention taken in connectionwith thet ac'- companying drawings in which:

Fig. l ris a side elevation'ofv a machine illustrating a vpreferred arrangement of mechanisms lfori shaping blanks to produce'droppers;

Fig. 2 is a partial top plan view of the machineshown in Fig. 1; Fig.-3 is an enlarged fragmentaryV section of a -portion of the machine taken on the line 3-3 of .Fi'gf l, [illustrating thefstretching and bending devices;

Fig; 4 is a perspective view of one part' of the' j stretching mechanism; l

f Fig. 5.- is a section taken'on thev line 5-5 of Fig. 3; I i

Fig. 3;

` Fig.*'7 is aside view of' a support onl which la '.blankis bent showing its relation to a conveyor chain;

Fig. 8 is a front View of the support shown in FisL'; f f' y Y vFig. 9 is asection taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 8;

and

Fig. 10 illustrates a pair of I n thev drawings, the machiner is shown as mounted on a rectangular frame l5 supported on Vandpulley22. Belt I9` drives pulley 23 fast on shaft 24 to which is valso `secured gear, 25, the llatterineshing with gear 26 on shaft 21. Keyed lto shaft "21 are sprockets*28 and 29. Conveyor finished dropper's vafter they have been `shaped and separated. n

drivenv by sprocket 28, the'chain also are securedto'bra/ckts 52, 52 'fwhich in turn are conveyor v4 I "which e on-shaft y21.y AIt isfto; be -noted that shaft. 31 is.

path of conveyory chain meshing .witn'fsproketfsz' ibse 'en shaftnssand being held-taut" by ,idle'r- 34 adjustably mounted 015 bracket L35.01;-l the underside of frame ".I5.

' Sprocket 36' fasty onshaftI 31 is i driven 'by sprocket '29 and chain 38, shaft 31j also having keyed thereto sprocket"39,lth" `latter driving'an inclined chain passesbver loose sprocket 42 mounted in a pairv of armsvv 43 disposed angularly lwithrespect to frame l5. v

f v'/Sllpported forwardly Aof the framev of the vmachine isan inclinedy magazine 44 at the discharge' end of ,whichj isfa resilient, finger 45 which per'- mits glass' blanks to roll into'proximity of the 3|.1 linked-.chain- 3I isfprovidedwith an outwardly vprojecting finger 46 adapted to engage ablank 4l,

.remove it -from-the magazine, .andv convey. the

blank'along rails 48 v,and overl'burn'ers 49 ra`.'1ram`ged medially 'of the `'conveyor chains andlongitudi- 'nally ofthe machine. The'fburners` heat'the blanks intermediate their ends sufliciently to plasticize the middle Vportion of reach blank.

' Each of the lglass blanks is'pro'videdvat each end'thereof with a lip4l. `After the blanks have been subjected tota softening heat,-l theflips are engaged byv a drawing o'rstretching device seen vin Figs.'v 3, 4=,"a` nd`5'.v v'lhis device consists of op-l fpovsitev divergin'g pairs of` plates vcomprising up- -perand lower `'guides 5I 5I' h A which cause lthe lipped ends of the blanks toV move away fromeach rother transversely of thepath' of the conveyor, thus stretchingl the softened vmiddle 4portion of `each blank "`and*atfi', he`v Sametime reducing the dameterof thismiddle portion. Guides 5l, 5I'

adius'tabiy seemed to -piats ys3 pivoted to ad- "justable vside"members 54. Also iixed` to members '54 are Lj-'shaped brackets55r apertured to receive links 56 eachfoffwhich is threaded at :oneend and pivo tedat its other end to Aone of the plates 53. fNuts 55113515 engageopposite sides (of bracket r,55.and maybe fixedfto -adjust'the angularity of ASub-frame l1 supports a motor i8 lwhichH570 vpivoted'plate 53' and, consequently," that of guides v5YI,V 5|' to varythe'langle'y of' "divergence` of' the guide plates." 'In'this'way the amount of' stretch" 'orflengthening ofthe softened rportion of the` blanks may be `'accurately controlled, ,itbeingobvious that the ends of the guides are moved? lat-1 erally asthef of divergenceis modiwith respect to'fieacli4 other to accommodateblanks of vvarious; diameters. v'As shownfin Fig. 4, the upper bracketis provided withv avertical slotv58 Each of adjacent through which pin 59 on bracket 52 projects, the pin being threaded to receive nut 6|. Bracket 52 also carries a threaded pin 62 accommodating nut 63 and washer 84. It will be apparent that, by loosening nuts 6| and 63, the upper bracket may be adjusted with respect to the lower bracket, and, by tightening the nuts, the relation of the guides are maintained. The space between the guides is slightly greater than the diameter of the blanks but less than that of the lips and, since the lips are disposed outwardly of the guides, they are moved apart thereby.

Side members 54 are secured to bars 85 each slotted at 56 to receive a threaded bolt 61 having thereon a hand wheel 68. Bolt 6-1 is threaded into frame |5. The side members are thus adjustable laterally to provide for blanks of varying lengths. Rails 48 are likewise adjustable laterally, being secured to bars 68 slotted at '|I and held to the frame by headed bolts '|2. The rails are preferably spaced a distance apart slightly less than the distance between the. lips on the cold blanks so that the lips overlap the outer faces of the rails. Hence the blanks are constrained to move in a definite path so that they are softened exactly at their middle portions as they pass over the softening flames.

When the blanks become soft, they tend to sag, the cold end tilting upwardly unless held against the supporting rails. To obviate sagging there are provided a plurality of weighting kiingers '13 on each side of the conveyor chain 3| adjacent the ends of the blanks. As will be seen in Figs. l and 2, these fingers are pivoted at their upper ends to brackets 14, each of the bra-ckets having a projecting arm 'l5 to limit the downward swing of the lingers. The weight of the fingers is suflicient to hold the ends of the blanks against the supporting rails to prevent the heated blanks from sagging. They furthermore act as a drag to insure accurate spacing of the blanks by urgingthem against the ngers on the conveyor chains.

As the softened blanks near the end of their travel on the horizontal conveyor 3|, they are engaged and lifted by the following mechanism.

Oppositely spaced links on the chain 4| of the inclined conveyor are provided with apertured fingers Pins 'I8 passing through these fingers and through connector members 19 are threaded or otherwise arranged to clamp the members be.- tween opposite fingers. The members 191 each has formed integral therewith a cylindrical lug 8| adapted to be seated in bore 82 in a block 83, the latter being substantially trapezoidal in cross section. Set screw 84 holds the blockl to the connector. Secured to block 83 is a perforated supporting plate 85 having inclined sides meeting at an acute angle, i. e., it is substantially V- shaped but is partially cylindrical at its apex, as indicated at 85. The ends of the plate are -bent inwardly and are clamped against block 83 by cross-piece `8'| and screw 88. Since sprocket 42 is disposed somewhat below the horizontal traverse of conveyor chain 3|,'each of the'plates 85 in its upward travel will engage a softened blank and lift itfrom the horizontal conveyor. The timing of the conveyors is such, of course, that the upper curved face of one of the plates 85 engages a blank at a time when the blank is directly over the plate. Furthermore, the speed of the inclined conveyor is such that its horizontall component is preferably substantially equal tothe rate of travel of the horizontal conveyor. v 1 i transversely with respect v cal travel to set and conform to the shape shown in Fig. 8. Back plate 89 on block 83 prevents displacement of the blanks until they reach the opposite side of conveyor 4| at which time they fall by gravity into a suitable receiver provided atv an appropriate position with respect to the conveyor. A subsequent operation halves the bent `blank substantially at the middle of the bent portion thereof to provide two droppers indicated at S0, 90 in Fig. 10.

While a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is not intended that it be confined to the particular arrangement of parts referredr to herein, but may be of various forms and limited only by the definition thereof contained in the appended` claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A machine for shaping glass droppers to form thereon offsetl discharge ends. comprising heating means for softening a portion of a tubular blank intermediate the ends thereof, means for drawing the softened portion of the blank to reduce the diameter of the middle thereof, and means for engaging the softened .reduced portion of the blank to effect relative movement of said reduced portion transversely with respect to the ends of the blank to form a V-shaped blank.

2. A machine for shaping glass droppers to `form thereon offset discharge endsA comprising heating means for softening a portion of a tubular blank intermediate the ends thereof, means for conveying the blank in a definite path past said heating means, diverging guide means engageable with the ends ofthe blanks for drawing the softened portion of the blank to reduce the diameter of the middle thereof, and means positioned in the path of said ,Y blanks for engaging the softened reduced portion of the blank to effect relative movement of said reduced portion to the ends of the blank to form a V-shaped blank. .y

3. A machine for shaping glass droppers to form thereon offset discharge ends comprising heating means for softening a portion of a `tubular blank intermediate the ends thereof, means for conveying the blank in a definite path past said heating means, drawing means positioned in the path of the conveyed blank and engageable with the blank to stretch the softened portion thereof, means engageable with the softened portion of the blank to bend said softened portion, and means for moving said bending means in a path which intersects the path of said conveying means.

4. A machine for shaping glass droppers to form thereon offset discharge ends comprising heating means for softening a portion of a tubular blank intermediate the ends thereof, means for conveying the blank in a horizontal path past said heating means, drawing means for stretching the softened portion of the blank to reduce the diameter of the middle thereof, means engageable with the softened reduced portion of the blank to bend said softened portion, and

gageable with the softened reduced portion of n the blank to bend said softened portion, and means for moving said bending means in-an inclined vertical path at a speed differing from that of said horizontal conveyor when said bending means is in engaging relation to said blank.

6. A machine for shaping glass droppers to formfthereon oliset discharge ends comprising heating means for softening aportion of a tubular blank intermediate the ends thereof, means for conveying the blankV in adenite path past said heating means, drawing means positioned in the path of the conveyed blank and engageable with the blank to stretch the softened portion thereof, and weight means engaging the blank adjacent the ends thereof While the blank is being stretched to hold the blank on the conveying means and prevent saggingof the softened portion of the blank.

'7. A machine for shaping glass droppers to form thereon offset' discharge ends comprising heating means for softening a portion of a tubular blank intermediate the ends thereof, means for conveying the blank in a definite path past said heating means including spaced movable projections engaging the blank and a pair of longitudinal rails for supporting the blank while being conveyed, drawing means positioned inthe path of the conveyed blank and engageable with the blank to stretch the softened portion thereof,

and a plurality of pivoted lingers positioned above reach of said. rails adjacent said drawing means and adaptedl to engage the blank adjacent the ends thereofto hold the blank against said rails and prevent sagging of the softened portion ofthe blank.` v

8. A device for bending softened glass articles comprising a block and afperforated plate secured to said block,lsaid platehaving converging sides `.merging into a curved apical portion,sad apical portion lbeing spaced from said block.

9. Mechanism for drawing tubular glass articles having lipped ends comprising a pair of supports, a plate pivotally connected to each support, a pair ofispaced guide members secured to each plate and angularly disposed vthereto l to provide opposite diverging guides, means for varying the anglebetween said plate and said support, and means for moving the lipped ends of the' glass articles into lengaging relation with said guide members to be guided thereby.

10. The lmethod of shaping a rtubular glass blank which consists in the following steps: first, heating the blank intermediate its ends tor soften the middle portionlof the blank,l then vdrawing the softened portion-to reduce the diameter thereof, then bending the blank to a substantial V-shape, vand finally cutting they blankat the apex of the bent blank. y l

.11. The method of shaping a tubular glass blank which consists in the following steps: first,

moving the blank in a definite path, heating the blankintermediate its ends while it is moving along said path to softenY the middle portion of the blank, then drawing the softened portion while the blank is moving to reduce the diameter thereof, then lifting theblank while still soft and supporting the blank only at vits softened portion to permit the ends of the blank to fall by gravity, theblank being thereby bent to angular form, and finally cutting the blank at the bent portion thereof. f

s CHARLES C1.V ANASTOR. 

